


Behind Their Blue Eyes

by ArtemisMoore



Category: Minecraft - Fandom, aphmau - Fandom
Genre: Aphmau - Freeform, F/F, F/M, Healing, M/M, Multi, NSFW, Rape, Zane - Freeform, non-con
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-15
Updated: 2016-12-17
Packaged: 2018-09-08 19:01:45
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 4
Words: 12,426
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8857180
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ArtemisMoore/pseuds/ArtemisMoore
Summary: Something is wrong with Zane, he's been acting weird and jumpy. At first nobody thinks anybody over it until the truth comes out about what happened to him over 11 years ago. They think it's all in the past; until History comes to repeat itself. Zane is in danger but is he the  only one?





	1. The Pain Of The Past

-Three Weeks After Lovers Lane Finale-

 

This is getting bad… Zane thought, as his stomach tightened, unable to anything but watch as Gene hugged Aphmau and then smiled at him. It was Eleven years ago, Zane. Get over it!

“See you at the Cafe tomorrow, Gene.” Aphmau said, waving to Gene as he walked down the stairs and walked down the street to where he lived with Travis and Dante.

Aphmau closed the door, then turned to Zane, who was feeling like he was going to faint. Or throw up… either way he didn’t feel good. He pulled his mask down, feeling slightly more comfortable with his mask not restricting his breathing. He would have done it earlier but the idea of exposing his face to Gene made the mask seem like a better idea.

“That was fun!” Aphmau smiled, her brown eyes bright. How was she so trusting? How was she so nice to everybody? She was able to give Gene a second chance, everybody was, but Zane just couldn’t. “I’m so proud of you, Zane!” She said, and Zane put his hand to his mouth.

He was going to be sick.

“Zane?”

Zane had no time to answer as he ran to the kitchen sink, barely managing to make it before he lost every bit of food that had been in his stomach. His chest was tight and his head throbbed while he tried to calm down his breathing, enough so that he didn’t feel like he was hyperventilating. Aphmau jogged to his side, rubbing his back with concern on her voice as she talked to him, trying to help him calm down.

“Zane, are you okay?” She asked, “Do you need anything?”

Zane coughed, spitting the bile that resigned on his tongue into the sink and rinsed it down the drain. “Can I have some water?”

“O-of course!” Aphmau said, jogging to the cupboard and pulling out a glass mug, which she soon filled with cold water and handed to the ill man. “Did you have too much sweets?”

Zane wish he could play it off as that but… he couldn’t… not this time. Not when he began to cry in front of Aphmau, his knees feeling like jello and threatening to fall under him. “No… no… Aphmau it’s Gene.” He sobbed, sipping some of the water, afraid that his trembling hands would give out and that he would break the cup.

“Gene?” She said, her voice caring but also suspicious. “What happened? Did he do something?”

“No-Yes- well.” He set the mug on the counter before walking to the couch and flopping down onto it. “Not recently.”

“Zane…” Aphmau sat by his head, which he slid up to rest on her knees as he continued to quietly cry. “I don’t understand. What did Gene do?”

Don’t tell her.

You’ll just be a burden.

She’ll kick you out, send you away.

She won’t believe you.

Zane sniffled, putting his arm over his eyes. “You won’t believe me…”

Aphmau sounded hurt by this, “Zane? O-of course I will! Why wouldn’t I?!” She asked, putting her hand on his forehead, her cold fingers comforting to the man.

“B-be-because nobody else did.” He sobbed harder.

“Zane please, what happened?”

You can’t trust her!

She’s lying!

She’ll make a fool out of you!

She’ll hate you!

“It happened in High School, I don’t know why I’m not over it.” He said.

“What did? Come on Zane… talk to me…”

“Okay… I-it happened Second Year… Gene was held back a year because of his Grades, so he was still in charge of the Shadow Knights, which was only really him and Zenix because of Sasha moving away.” He chuckled to himself, “I was stupid back in those days… desperate to be a Shadow Knight… to spend time with the “cool kids”... well… I guess I got what I wanted…”

 

-11 Years Ago-

 

“This is it! This is the day they’ll have to accept me as a Shadow Knight!” Zane said to himself as he looked in the bathroom mirror. Giving himself a pep talk. Over the summer his voice had gotten deeper and less dorky sounding, he had lost a lot of weight and became slim and even a bit muscular. 

He hoped that these changes would make it easier for Gene and Zenix to accept him.

Zane took in a deep breath, before messing up his hair. He then fixed his mask, and tugged down his tie slightly; giving him a more “rough” appearance. Then, after making sure that he looked the part he left the bathroom and made his way towards Gene, who was leaning against his locker, playing on his phone.

“G-Gene.” Zane said, then cleared his throat trying to calm himself when Gene looked at him. “I want to join the Shadow Knights.”

Gene looked him over, “Do I know you?”

“It’s me, Zane.”

Gene now looked surprised. “That fat kid from last year?”

“Y-yeah, one in the same.”

“Huh, what happened to you?”

“I was training.” Zane lied, the truth was his mom had gone on a “Health-Kick” during the summer. He didn’t train for anything.

“Training? For what?”

“T-the Shadow Knights of course.”

“Still desperate huh?” Gene looked him over yet again, this time slower with a gaze that made Zane feel a little… nervous. It was very similar to the look Vylad gave cake. “Well, you know what, I don’t see why not. But, you have to pass the test first.”

“Test?” Zane said, trying not to feel too excited.

“Yeah, come to the Storage Locker after school. If you pass the test then you’ll be a Shadow Knight.”

“Okay.” Zane said, watching as Gene walked away while he tried not to feel excited over the fact that he was now so close.

 

-Present-

 

“I didn’t know you actually became a Shadow Knight.” Aphmau said with a frown.

“I didn’t.” Zane said, feeling sick again, but he managed to keep the bile down this time. “The test… it was a trap.”

“A trap?” Aphmau’s eyes widened and she seemed to become a bit more pale. “What kind of trap?”

 

-11 years ago-

 

Zane could hardly wait until school was over, and when it was he went straight to the Storage Locker, where the equipment for sports festivities were kept. It was too early in the year for sports so nobody would be around, meaning if Gene had him spray paint walls or something he wouldn’t get caught.

As he walked to the Locker though a feeling in his stomach got stronger and stronger, as though trying to warn him of danger, a feeling he got every time he was near Gene or Zenix, something which he always thought was excitement. So, he ignored the feeling, and didn’t question it as he opened the door to the locker and walked inside.

The bad feeling only started making sense when the door shut behind him suddenly and a hand covered his mouth. His hands reached up, digging at the hand as he tried to pull it off of his mouth, calling out in a muffled voice for his attacker to let him go. He struggled against the one holding him, and only began struggling harder when another figure came in front of him. Zenix. That could only mean that Gene was behind him.

Was this the test? Breaking free of their sneak attack? It was possible. Y-yeah, that made a little bit of sense.

Zane tried to make more noise, telling them to stop and that it wasn’t funny, but froze when Zenix pulled out a knife and held it towards him showing Zane that they didn’t care.

“Be quiet, or I’ll hurt you.” Zenix threatened.

Zane let himself try to relax, but found it becoming harder and harder when Zenix grabbed the tie that was around Zane’s neck and untied it. Zane shivered slightly as the feeling of the tie slid out from the collar of his shirt. He let out a sound against the hand which was still firmly pressed against his mouth. Zenix took Zane’s wrists in his hand before tying them tightly in front of him crossed over one another.

“There.” Zenix said, and Gene smiled.

“Mph mm!” Zane tried to pull his hands free, struggling harder as tight feeling in his chest and stomach grew more and more. He knew this was bad, and was getting worse by the second as Gene forced him to the corner of the room were the wooden Vaulting Horse sat. Zane’s chest was pushed to the triangular platform, his mouth becoming uncovered.

“W-what are you guys doing?” He asked, trying to pull his hands free, “Lemme g-mph!” His words were once again cut off when Zenix tugged the mask off his face and stuffed his own tie into Zane’s mouth, effectively gagging him.

Zane struggled, still trying to pull his hands free until a feeling of somebody’s hand rubbing his butt through his pants caught his attention. He froze for a moment, while his thoughts spun, until it finally caught up with him when Gene reached forward and unzipped the front of his jeans. Zane began to panic even more, trying to break free from the ropes, screaming into his gag. He knew what the wanted from now, it was trap, and now he was going to pay for falling for it.

Zenix grabbed Zane’s hair, pulling his head up so that Zane had no other choice but to look at him. Zane could see the evil intent in Zenix’s dark brown eyes and the smirk on his face. Zane wasn’t going to be able to escape, he was outnumbered and outmatched. Knowing this he allowed tears to form in his eyes and even began to streak down his cheeks.

“He’s cute when he cries” Zenix purred slightly, making Zane whimper when Gene began to pull down Zane’s pants and underwear, exposing him the cold air in the storage. “Huh, who would have thought this one was cute… Last year he was an ugly little freak, now look. Hah, just looking at him like this is making me excited.”

Gene chuckled and Zane tensed when he felt something hard prodding his entrance. He was scared, really scared. It wasn’t big enough to be what he knew what was going to be coming. “You should see him back here, he’s got freckles on his hips, and he’s got curves. Like a girl.” Gene said, and Zane gasped in pain when the finger pushed inside, making him cry out into the gag and struggle yet again. 

“He even sounds like one.” Zenix said, forcing Zane to look at him again, this time though the sight really made him sick. With his free hand Zenix was undoing his own pants with a sick smile on his face. “Listen up, Zane. If you do what we want we’ll let you go. But let’s make this clear, you will never never be a part of the Shadow Knights.” Zenix purred. “Now, be quiet. Or we’ll really hurt you.”

Zane didn’t know what he meant by this but if there was something worse than what they were already doing, then he was going to comply with what they wanted. He gave a nodd and Zenix’s smile twisted as he pulled the gag out of his mouth, leaving Zane panting and whimpering in pain as Gene slowly slid his finger in and out of Zane’s small virgin hole. 

“S-s-stop p-please.” Zane said, tears dripping down his face as he struggled to get his voice to escape.

“Aw, cute. Zane, we haven’t even started.” Zenix said, pulling his cock out of his pants and boxers, making Zane blush and feel sick to his stomach. “Now, the sooner you make us feel good, the sooner we will let you go home. Understood?” He said, stroking his hard member already.

“O-okay.” Zane said, then let out a cry of pain when Gene slipped in a second finger. It hurt. Irine did it hurt, but if Zenix kept to his word then so long as he did what he wanted they wouldn’t hurt him much more than this. All he had to do was make them feel good… right? B-but how did he do that?

“Good boy.” Zenix purred, “Now, open your mouth.”

Zane’s lip trembled as he slowly opened his mouth just to be met by the head of Zenix’s cock. Now Zane felt really sick, his head spinning as it slid past his teeth, pushing to the point that he struggled to breathe until finally Zane’s nose hit Zenix’s abdomen. Zenix reeked of cheap cologne and while his cock wasn’t incredibly thick it was long and made it hard for the goth to breath, especially with tears streaking his face.

“Now, I don’t want to feel any teeth or I’ll cut you.” Zenix said, holding up his knife yet again.

Zane whined, but did as he was told, while Zenix pulled out slightly before thrusting suddenly back in, making Zane choke slightly letting out a grunt in discomfort, tears dripping down his face. Zenix continued this though, thrusting at a slow and deep pace, keeping it constant. Zane was learning to deal with it, because every time Zenix would go deep he couldn’t breathe, and while that scared him it also helped him block out the suffocating scent.

Zane thought this would be the worst of it, the pain in his rear was now dull and throbbing as Gene continued thrusting slightly, and Zenix was distracted by his face. The worst was coming fast though as Gene suddenly pulled his hand out of Zane, leaving him comfortably empty, but also confused. He wanted to look behind him, but because of the teen currently forcing him to give him a blow job he could only listen as Gene chuckled.

“I can’t wait anymore.” Gene said, and the sickening sound of a zipper going down made Zane’s heart stop, then speed back up when he felt something press against his entrance yet again. This one was bigger than the fingers and just having the tip of it pressed into him caused Zane to sob violently, all the while Zenix didn’t stop his thrusting.

The pain was so much worse than the fingers were, and the more Gene pushed in the worse the feeling got. It was like somebody was splitting him in half from the inside, his stomach felt as though it was on fire, and he could actually feel himself ripping as blood dripped down his thighs onto the floor between his legs. When Gene was finally all the way in he waited for a moment, grinding on him slightly while Zenix seemed to speed up, as though turned on by the sobbing goth between them.

“Irine, he’s so tight.” Gene said, “It feels good. Are you feeling good, Worm?” He asked, slapping Zane’s butt, making the raven haired boy cry out in pain.

No! No this doesn’t feel good! It hurts! I want to go home! I don’t want this! I don’t want to be a Shadow Knight! Lemme go! I’ll never bother you guys again! Zane thought, but could do nothing but whimper and whine into the cock assaulting his throat.

“I’m getting close.” Zenix purred.

Close to what? I-is he going to leave? Zane thought hopeful.

“Already?” Gene chuckled, pulling out slightly, bringing on another wave of pain rushing through Zane, before he pushed back in, making the raven haired boy wriggle, and try to pull away. This earned him nothing but more pain as Gene grabbed his hips, gipping them so tightly he knew they would bruise, while at the same time Zenix grabbed his face and thrusted impossibly deeper into the blue-eyed boy.

“Don’t move.” Zenix snapped, “You’re going to like what’s next.”

Zane sniffled, he doubted that. He just wanted this to end, but the fact that it kept going on and on, and seemed to be only getting worse as the two got faster and faster, drawing on only more pain… all he could really hope was that he would pass out and that this would all be over.

Suddenly the cock that was in his mouth got slightly bigger, before hot liquid suddenly shot out of it, coating his throat. It was sour, and thick, with an almost expired-milk taste to it that could have easily caused Zane to throw up if Zenix had pulled his cock out of Zanes mouth. Instead though Zenix just smiled down at him.

“Swallow. All of it.” Zenix said. Zane wanted to argue, but fear of being hurt further convinced him other wise, and after pushing past his gag-reflex he managed to swallow all but the parts that stuck to his tongue and the back of his throat. Zenix chuckled, pulling his cock out leaving Zane only having to deal with the pain in his butt.

“S-s-s-stop!” Zane moaned, tears streaking his face. “A-ah! It hurts!” Zane sobbed, just to be met with a familiar thick fabric being stuffed into his mouth, gagging him yet again.

“What did we say about being quiet?” Zenix growled. “We won’t warn you again.”

“Hah, no need to worry.” Gene said, “I’m almost done here.”

No! H-he's not going to - n-no!

Zane struggled slightly but it was helpless when Zenix pushed his shoulders down, holding him to the platform. Zane glanced over his shoulder, only being able to see the Seniors shoulders moving as he continued thrusting into him until, just like with Zenix, Zane felt Gene’s cock seem to become larger until a hot and painful surge rushed through him in an instant while Gene grunted in pleasure.

Gene laughed slightly, pulling out of Zane slowly, letting the semen drip down Zane’s leg’s much like the blood had been. When he was all the way out, he fixed his pants and went in front of Zane, showing his face to Zane for the first time through this experience. “Aw, you’re right. He is cute.” He said, pulling off his own tie. “Who knows, maybe one day we’ll get to do this again.” He said, putting the tie around Zane’s head, blindfolding the black haired boy before one of them suddenly shoved him off the edge of the Vaulting Horse, causing him to slam hard onto the cement flooring. 

While his head didn’t hit the cement the contact, it - ontop of all the abuse, helped him relax enough that Zane could feel himself finally drifting to unconsciousness.

“See you around, Zane.” Gene said as he blacked out.

 

-Present-

 

Aphmau’s face was a mix between anger, confusion, sadness, and just looking sick while she held her sobbing friend who was still curled on her lap, large tears streaking from both eyes. His face was puffy and red, he was paler than normal and looked almost as though he was going to throw up again.

“Zane…”

Zane choked on his tears, sitting up as he sobbed louder, hugging himself as comforting as he could. It was the worst day of his life, a day he had only shared with one other person. A person who didn’t believe him, and had actually laughed at him. Now that Aphmau knew was she going to do the same thing? Was she going to kick him out? Send him away?

“Aph I’m home.” Aaron said, opening the front door, startling both Zane and Aphmau who looked at the black haired boy.

Seeing both Aphmau and Zane in tears, without an episode of My Little Horsey’s on instantly caused Aaron to glare with a “Who do I need to kill” gaze. Aaron stayed calm, grabbing tissues off the counter and handing them to the two, though he was surprised when Zane actually took it. Normally when Zane was here he hardly looked at Aaron, let alone accepted anything from him, but this time was different as he looked directly at Aaron.

“What’s going on?” Aaron asked, and Aphmau looked at Zane who was blowing his nose and shaking violently.

“I… Z-Zane… can I?”

Zane shrugged slightly, so long as it was just Aaron who knew… he didn’t want everybody finding out but Aaron didn’t like him too much to really care. All Aaron did care about was Aph, and making sure that she was okay. Zane didn’t matter, not to him.

“Aaron… Zenix and Gene… they… they raped Zane.”

“What?!” Aaron’s voice was filled with confusion and anger that surprised Zane. “When?!”

“In High School, our second year… after you graduated.”

Aaron grabbed Zane by the shoulders, but instead of being a tight painful grip it was gentle and he was pulled into a hug, one that Zane simply didn’t have the energy to break free from, so instead he hugged back. “Damn it, Zane, why didn’t you say anything?”

“Aphmau really wanted me to be friends with him.” Zane said,”I-I thought I could forgive him. I-I thought.” Zane choked yet again, sobbing harder and harder. “I tried, I really did Aphmau. I’m so so sorry.”

“Zane, stop.” Aphmau said, “You have nothing to apologize for. I’m sorry I forced you to try to get along with him.”

“Aphmau is right, Zane. The only one who should be sorry is Gene.” Aaron growled. “How didn’t I see it… how didn’t I see that it wasn’t just dislike or distrust in your eyes… it was fear…” Aaron let Zane go before looking at him. “I’m sorry, but I think you should tell Garroth, or Dante.”

Zane instantly scrambled to his feet, stumbling over the table before falling on his butt on the other side. “No!” Zane said, rubbing his eyes. “No no no. I’m fine! N-nobody needs to know!” He said, “Please you guys… you can’t tell anybody… I’m just beginning to make Friends a-and Gene seems to have really changed a-and… please… don’t say anything…”

Aphmau and Aaron looked at each other, before looking back.

“We won’t, Zane. But… if it begins to seem like you can’t take it anymore or if something happens. We will tell them.” Aaron said. “You’ve been dealing with this for so long on your own… we won’t let you continue.”

“Do you want to stay here?” Aphmau wondered, “You can sleep here if you want. I mean… it can’t be easy living right next door to Gene…”

“N-no… I need to go home…” Zane got up slowly, his hands and knees shaking as he pulled his mask back onto his pale face.

“I’ll walk you there.” Aphmau said.

“We both will.” Aaron said, “You look like your going to pass out, and if you do Aphmau won’t be able to carry you on her own.”

Zane wanted to argue with the couple, but deep down he knew that they were right. So, ten minutes later the three made their way out of the house and down the street to the house he shared with Garroth, and Laurence. Zane hoped that the two would be asleep and wouldn’t see him like this… but of course… with his luck.

They weren’t.


	2. The Friends and The Lovers

Zane opened the door, peeking in cautiously just to be met with the sound of the television and two blue eyes looking up at him from the couch. Of course, seeing his little brother pale, shaking, with puffy red eyes Garroth jumped to his feet, and to his surprise so did Laurence as the two ran to the door.

“Zane?! What happened?!” Garroth asked, then looked at Aphmau when Zane simply looked away.

“He started feeling sick.” Aphmau thankfully lied, “We were afraid he could have a fever and might pass out in the street, so we walked him home.”

Garroth, seeming satisfied with this nodded. “Go on up to bed, baby brother. I’ll check on you in a little while.”

“Please, don’t.” Zane mumbled, looking back at Aphmau and Aaron. “Thanks.” He said, before turning back around and walking into the house.

Trudging up the stairs was just as hard as they were that day way back then, and laying in his bed was just as satisfying, especially when he kicked off his shoes, pulled off his sweater, and just sat in his bed in nothing but his tank top and jeans. Part of him wanted to get into something more comfortable, but he feared that any more movement would result in him throwing up again. Something that he seriously didn’t want.

Zane slowly and cautiously slipped off his mask, dropping it off the edge of the bed before he let his eyes drift shut. He felt sick but he also felt… relieved. Finally, somebody believed him. Somebody actually listened to what he said and believed him. Two people… now so long as Zane didn’t mess everything up between everybody… then he would be alright… right?

 

“I don’t feel right not telling them…” Aphmau said as she and Aaron walked back to their house. “I mean… Gene just lives right there! W-what if he tries to hurt him again! What if he hurts somebody else! What if-.”

“Aphmau, calm down. We will talk to Gene tomorrow, and get answers. Even if it means I beat it out of him. Then so what.”

Aphmau frowned. Part of her really did want to believe that Gene wasn’t that kind of person… but she knew that he was. At least back then. If he ever tried to hurt Zane or anybody else ever again, it wouldn’t be just Aaron that he would have to worry about.

Aphmau pushed her hair out of her face as she walked into the house and went up to their bedroom, flopping down on the bed with a heavy sigh before Aaron laid next to her, spooning her lovingly. It was comforting, but still she was so worried for Zane. No wonder he hadn’t wanted Gene to join their Pony Dates, he sitting right next to the man who hurt him so bad all those years ago. Still though, Zane pushed through the fear and did it for her sake, at first she appreciated it, but now that she knew the truth she was really beginning to feel selfish.

“Aphmau, you can’t blame yourself.” Aaron said, running his fingers lovingly through her hair. “Nobody knew.”

Aphmau frowned, “Somebody did know. He told somebody before, Aaron… and they didn’t believe him. He was afraid to tell me because he thought I wouldn’t believe him either.”

She could feel Aaron tense up slightly. “They didn’t believe him? Who in their right mind wouldn’t believe a sixteen year old kid when he tells them something like that?”

Aphmau shrugged, “I don’t know, but when I found out… I-I’m going to.. I’m going to do something. I don’t know what but I’ll do something.” She sniffled slightly, tears dripping down her face. She felt horrible, and she could only imagine how Zane was feeling.

 

 

Zane woke up very early the next morning, lying in his bed, in just his jeans and tank top, something he normally wouldn’t do. But he was becoming more the more confused by the second of why he did do, until the familiar test of bile and the tight feeling in his chest reminded him. He had told Aphmau what happened, everything in detail and now not only did he have to deal with going to work with Gene there, but now so did Aphmau.

Zane sniffled, rolling over to his side before curling into a ball and covering his face with the pillow. Why did he have to open his damn mouth? Why did he have to say something. He had been fine dealing with all the pain and everything that he was going through so why - why did he push it onto his friends the way that he did. He felt so bad, so sick… so sad… he was afraid that Aphmau hated him now. Honestly, while she might have seemed to care earlier… he was afraid that when she saw him again today that would change.

Suck it up. Just suck it up, you can’t keep moping around like this, Zane. He thought to himself, pushing the pillow off his head as he sat up in bed. After a moment he climbed out of bed and made his way across his room. He slowly opened the door, peeking outside and looking towards Garroth’s room, the door cracked slightly open.

Cautiously Zane walked out of his room and peeked through the crack, a gentle smile forming on his face when he saw Garroth and Laurence laying on Garroth’s bed, cuddling in their sleep, both topless - and Zane guessed - bottomless as well. They had been dating for almost six weeks now, and already they had gotten to this stage. He was happy that his older brother had found happiness, even if it was with Little Laurence, then again they seemed made for each other. Though, only the three roommates knew about it.

Zane chuckled to himself before making his way to the kitchen, heading right to the fridge for hit bottle of water that he always carried around the house during the day. He always found it easier to carry around a water bottle than a cup, it was weird, but he found it the best most of the time. Once he had the cold bottle in his hand he pulled open the top with his teeth and began sipping on the water while walking towards the couch. It was a Friday, so My Little Horsey’s weren’t going to be on, but Steven Universe episodes would be. It would have to do, at least for now any ways.

He sat on the couch, pushing his hair out of his good eye before turning on the TV. He had two more hours until work, and he was going to make the best out of it, at least for a little while. All he could really hope for was that the show would distract him from the fear he was feeling. After all he had been living with all of this for 11 years… what was just a few more?

Zane flicked on the TV to Steven Universe before curling up on the couch, watching the show as it played in front of him. It was the episode that Connie and Steven met, a really cute one that Zane had always enjoyed. Zane was often reminded of Aphmau when he saw Connie just like he saw himself in Lapis. Zane let out a soft yawn, the phone that had slept in his pocket through the night let out a “ba-boop” sound catching his attention and pulling his thoughts away from his show as he dug in his pocket. 

You don’t have to come into work today, I completely understand. <3 Aphmau

Zane clenched his fists tightly around his phone as he thought about it some more. He knew Aphmau was going to try and talk to Gene about what he had told her and that scared him. What if Gene denied it and Aphmau believed him? What if Gene got angry and came after him? All these possibilities scared him. He had finally gotten somebody to listen and the fact that they could be swayed to believe somebody else was… possible and nerve wracking.

 

-11 years ago-

 

Zane wasn’t sure how long he had been unconscious but when he woke up he found himself… confused, and doubting what had been done to him until he opened his eyes and found that he was still shrouded in darkness and a sour taste on his tongue. He panicked for a second, but then managed to collect himself enough to pull his hands up and pull the gag out of his mouth, just in time for him to throw up.

Part of him was thankful to get Zenix out of him, but at the same time being blindfolded and his wrists still tied scared him, not to mention throwing up always freaked him out. He hated not being able to breathe. Two or three bouts of vomit later, he managed to stomach the rest and pull the blindfold around his neck, and look around.

He was thankfully alone, and judging by the lack of light coming from under the door it was dark, or getting there. He pushed himself to his hands and knees, letting out a gasp of pain as throbbing came from his butt, drawing out tears as he began to cry yet again, shaking slightly as he did so. He brought his hands to his mouth, using his teeth to untie and free his wrists from their binds, and then he examined them. They were bruised, and had burns on the wrist bones from the constant rubbing of the fabric… and they were shaking harder than the rest of him.

Zane slowly pushed to his feet, pulling up his pants and boxers, struggling to do up the button and zipper with his shaking hands, but when he did he felt a little better, though he still felt disgusted with himself and what had happened. He wanted to fall back down and cried harder, but he also wanted to head home in case Zenix and Gene came back. He stumbled to the door, pulling it open and looking towards the sun, which as he expected, was almost completely down, only granting him a little light.

He pulled the blindfold the rest of the way off his neck and tossed it to the ground as he walked along, stumbling slightly as he walked through the school grounds, in the direction of home. He had almost made it out of the school when he bumped into somebody familiar, though the contact of another human instantly caused him to gasp and stumble backwards, staring at the one he had run into fearfully.

“Zane? What are you doing here?”

 

-Present-

 

“Morning little brother!” Garroth’s loud voice boomed, startling Zane out of his thoughts as he looked to where it came from. Garroth came down the stairs, wide awake and happy while Laurence held his hand and rubbed his eyes, clearly not quite ready to join the land of the living.

Zane shrugged, “It’s a morning.”

“You feeling any better?” Garroth asked.

“I feel fine. But, Aphmau gave me the day off to rest up anyways.”

“Good, you could use the rest.”

Laurence yawned, sitting on the couch on the other side of him, his elbow on the arm of the couch holding up his head as he tried not to fall asleep.

“I’ll make coffee!” Garroth said, walking to the kitchen to do just that. “Do you guys want toast?”

“Sure.” Zane said.

“I’ll take some.” Yawned Laurence again, before Zane saw him look at him. Zane tried to ignore him, something which became harder and harder the longer the brunette looked at him.

“What?!” Zane growled.

“Nothing… you just look like you’re about to cry.” Laurence shrugged making Zane look away. No. No way was he going to cry in front of Laurence, he would never let him live it down.

“Yeah right, I don’t cry.” Zane growled, crossing his arms.

“Course you don’t.” Laurence said, rolling his eyes and looking the other way.

Zane didn’t know why he and Laurence didn’t get along, after all Laurence wasn’t a bad person, he just… annoyed him in a way. Zane didn’t mind seeing Laurence with Garroth because it made his brother happy and it kept Laurence busy and away from him. The had just always been something… familiar… in those blue eyes of Laurences. He couldn’t place it, but he knew he had seen it somewhere else. Maybe it was the not knowing that bothered him the most and made him not like Laurence. 

Garroth soon came over with two plates of toast, handing them to the two younger males before putting the two mugs of coffee on the table in the livingroom. It was nice, Zane would like to admit, but at the same time Zane wasn’t about to tell his brother that he appreciated it. Not when he had a little bit of a reputation to keep up, and after coming home in the state he had the night before, that reputation was already pretty messed up.

Zane quietly ate the toast, trying to ignore Laurence and his brother while Laurence fed Garroth pieces of the toast, giggling slightly. They were cute, even if they didn’t realize it, but he knew why they hadn’t told anybody yet. Garroth was nervous about how everybody would react, especially their parents. They hadn’t shown any distrust or dislike for any sexuality, but that didn’t mean their views would change if they found out that their eldest son was bi-sexual and dating his best friend from High School.

When his toast was gone he placed the plate on the table and picked up the warm mug, sipping the hot coffee enjoying the warmth as it went down his throat and filled his chest with warmth. He had never necessarily enjoyed coffee, it was too bland and often made him sick to his stomach, but Garroth knew how he liked it, with a lot of creamer and sugar to make it sweet to the taste. It still made him feel sick, but he enjoyed it a lot more this way, and made it easier to stomach.

“Zane, Laurence and I are going to go out to the movies later. It was supposed to be a date but if you want to join us you can.” Garroth said.

Zane looked at Garroth and Laurence who both had different looks on their faces. Garroth’s was one of concern for Zane who wasn’t one to get sick often, while Laurence's was one of shock that Garroth had just invited Zane to tag along on their date. Zane could almost laugh at the Brunettes expression, but chose not to and instead just shook his head.

“No. That’s your thing. Besides, I don’t want to see you two making out.” Zane teased, making Laurence’s face twist into a blush. “You guys have fun, I’m going to stay here and try to catch up on my sleep.”

Garroth nodded, seeming unaffected by his comment, as though he had been planning on making out with Laurence and was proud that other people knew it. He was a dork. A dork who was in love with his best friend. “I understand, brother. We will be here for a ew more hours before we head out, if you change your mind let us know.”

“Yeah, I will.” Zane said, sipping down more of his coffee as he let his thoughts wonder back to Aphmau worriedly. He knew Gene wouldn’t do anything to hurt her but he still worried about what could happen. Would he lash out in other ways? Hurt somebody in the shop? He hoped not… nobody deserved to get hurt because he couldn’t keep his mouth shut.

 

Aphmau tried to keep herself calm as she opened up the cafe that morning, her hair pulled into a high ponytail, her maid uniform tied tightly. Kawaii-Chan had showed up a little earlier and seemed to know that something was wrong because she had been keeping her distance from the very upset Aphmau who had already managed to break a cup in the first ten minutes of being there in just pure anger. 

“A-Aphmau-Senpai, are you alright?” Kawaii-Chan finally asked, pushing her pink hair out of her face.

Aphmau sighed, “Sorry, Kawaii-Chan, I'm fine.” She smiled, “I just had a rough night last night. Has Gene showed up yet?”

“Gene-Kun? No.”

“Let me know when he does, okay?”

“Okay, Aphmau-Senpai, Kawaii-Chan will.”

Aphmau gave her a smile, hoping that it would help the Mifwa relax a little bit. Aphmau felt bad for scaring her friend. “Thank you, Kawaii-Chan.” She said, thankful to see the girls ears perk up happily as she skipped away.

Aphmau sucked in a breath again, rubbing the back of her neck. She had to calm down; Zane didn’t want anybody else to know what he had told her and Aaron, and if she kept acting weird like this people would get suspicious of what she was so frustrated about. 

All the anger she had though wasn’t just towards Gene and Zenix… no part of the anger was at herself as well. How had she been able to ignore how uncomfortable Zane was around Gene? Why didn’t she know something was wrong in High School when Zane suddenly dropped out of school during their Sophomore year of school? Now, of course, everything made sense… but she knew that if she had just taken a little more time to understand Zane back then, then maybe he wouldn’t have such a hard time going through all of it now.

“Hey, Aphmau.” Aaron said, kissing her cheek as he walked in.

“A-Aaron? What are you doing here?”

“I thought I’d cover for Zane.” Aaron said, tying an apron around his waist making Aphmau blush slightly, he looked really good in the Butler uniform, and it was hard for her not to stare. “Plus, I don’t know how I feel about you confronting Gene on your own.”

Aphmau nodded understandingly, as she pushed her bangs out of her face cautiously. Gene hadn’t shown any sign of violence recently, but telling him that she knew what he had done could change that… could he try to hurt her? What would she do if he denied everything? Would she believe him or would she believe Zane? After seeing Zane the way he was last night she was inclined to believe him, but at the same time it would be hard to pick a side, especially in this situation. 

“Thank you, Aaron, I appreciate the backup.”

Kawaii-Chan jogged in, “Aphmau-Senpai, Gene-Kun is here.” She said.

“Thank you, Kawaii-Chan. I need to talk to him outside, will you run the store while I do?”

“Okie!” Kawaii-Chan said, then skipped away.

“You ready?” Aaron asked and Aphmau nodded.

“As ready as I can be.”


	3. Confession

Looking at Gene in his Butler clothes with his hair brushed back and freshly washed almost took Aphmau back; he looked so different than he did back in High School, and chances were that he was just as different personality wise. Still though, she couldn’t ignore what Zane had told her with those big tears in his eyes.

When Gene looked at her and Aaron though he got a look in his eyes, a look of knowing, as though he could tell just by looking at them that his secret was out. Aaron signaled Gene to follow them out back, something that Gene didn’t question as the three of them walked to the back of the store which was where they kept the majority of garbage until Wednesdays when the garbage trucks came around. Hardly anybody came back into this area, so it was the perfect place for the three to talk in private, especially about something as important as this.

Once they were in there, Aphmau closed the door, giving them even more privacy from anybody who could walk past them and try to listen in on their conversation. Aphmau sat on an empty crate that had once carried bags of sugar, for now though it would just have to be used as a seat, which would likely be the only thing that would keep her from lashing out at the teal-eyed man if he said anything that upset her. Aaron stood next to her, his arms crossed over his chest as he glared at Gene, who looked almost nervous under their gaze.

“So…” Gene actually started, startling Aphmau, “How much do you know?”

Aphmau and Aaron looked at each other before Aaron spoke up. “Zane told us everything.”

“Is it true, Gene… did you really do all of that to Zane?”

Gene sat on the floor against the wall putting his head back, “Yeah… I did. Zenix and I both did…”

“Why?” Aphmau said, feeling sick to her stomach now. She didn’t know how to feel, she was expecting him to deny it, but the fact that he was flat-out admitting to all of it… she wasn’t ready for.

“‘Why?’ I’ve been asking myself that same thing since the day it happened… to tell you the truth, Aphmau, I’m not sure ‘why’ I did it… I would like to say that Zenix talked me into it… which he did… but I let him, and I didn’t stop him or myself…”

 

-11 Years Ago- 

 

“That was great!” Zenix said, his face red with excitement. “I’m actually thinking about going back and having another go at him. I mean, it’s the weekend, we could do whatever we wanted with him. Maybe even move him to the hide out and keep him there.”

Gene looked at Zenix, the guilt burying it’s way into his stomach until he began to feel sick. He had enjoyed himself, more than he should of, and he would have been fine… If he hadn’t looked Zane in the eyes. His lip was ripped and bleeding, his nose and chin bruised from the abuse Zenix had put him through, his face pale and soaked in tears, and just a look of pure terror. Only then did he feel guilty about what they had done. What he had done.

Zenix though didn’t seem to feel guilty at all, infact he looked more excited now than he did when they had started. It actually scared Gene a little bit.

“No.” Gene said, “He’s been through enough today.”

Zenix looked at Gene. “What? Are you chickening out on me now, Gene? Pathetic. You know so long as you don’t feel guilty you won’t get caught. Besides, even if we do get caught you’ll be the one who get’s in trouble, not me. After all, I’m much younger than you, I can just say that you threatened me, and that if I didn’t do what you wanted you would hurt me the same way you hurt that poor little Sophomore.”

Gene looked at Zenix, feeling more surprised than anything now. Of course Zenix would do that he had learned from the best; him! Gene growled, “Like I would go to jail for your sorry ass.” Gene growled, then turned down the street and made his way towards his house.

So long as Zenix didn’t go back to hurt Zane while he was still unconscious he had nothing to worry about… still though, Gene still wanted to run back to Zane and check on him. Keep the Sophomore safe in case Zenix did decide to go back after him.

Later that night, as Gene laid in bed the guilt of what was going on around him made him feel worse and worse… until finally he couldn’t take it anymore. He slipped on his tennis shoes and jacket before he walked out of the house, making sure to keep quiet and not draw any attention to himself. He needed to be locked up, he wasn’t safe to be around anymore… but at the same time he didn’t want to force Zane to go through the entire experience of going through cort. If Zane pressed charges then he would understand, but he wasn’t going to do that to himself.

He was going to have to commit another crime, one that nobody was hurt but would still result in him being arrested and locked in jail, even if just for a year. He needed to be somewhere so that Zane didn’t have to see his face and so that he could suffer for what he had done to the innocent boy who had never deserved what he had done to him.

Gene went to a nearby convenience store, one he knew had a security alarm for robberies, and after a moment he bent down, picking up a large rock. He then threw the rock as hard as he could at the window, shattering the glass and instantly setting off the loud alarm. The sound alone made him want to run, but he had enough guilt to last a day. So, instead he sat in front of the store and waited for the police to show up. Prison was going to be his home for a while and so long as it kept Zane safe he didn’t mind what came next.

 

-Present Day-

 

“I spent five years there.” Gene said, not moving from his spot, “and every second I was there I thought about what I did to Zane and how to make it up to him… I never thought of anything… because there’s nothing I can do. How do you apologize for hurting somebody like that?”

Aphmau glanced at Aaron who seemed to be thinking just as hard as she was. She wasn’t sure what his thoughts on the subject were but Aphmau was glad that Gene knew he had done wrong and had made small steps to make himself better. But that still didn’t change what he had done.

“What brings all of this up? I-I thought maybe Zane had managed to work through everything.”

“Well he hasn’t.” Aaron snapped.

“After you left, he threw up and was so sick that Aaron and I had to walk him home… even now I’m afraid to let you near him and to let him come to work. I know you need this job, so I won’t fire you, but I may need to change your shift so you and Zane don’t work at the same time. For Zane’s sake.”

“I understand.” Gene said, forcing a smile. “But… I would like to talk to him, on his terms of course. Knowing that he’s still haunted by what happened I feel that I need to apologize… maybe even try to help him…”

Aaron glared softly, “We’ll talk to him, but we won’t make any promises.”

“Okay.” Gene got up, dusting his pants off.

Aphmau sighed, “Get back to work. But just know Gene, Aaron and I have our eyes on you. One mess up and I will not be hesitate to fire you.”

Gene nodded, before leaving the room without a word.

“Do you believe that he actually feels guilty?” Aaron asked and Aphmau shrugged.

“I want to say yes, but honestly I have no idea. I know what he put us through in High School and now some of what he put Zane through… that makes me want to say no… but the fact that he had actually admitted to it flat out... it’s hard for me to ignore the possibility that maybe he does.” She leaned against the wall with a deep breath, “I’m going to text Zane and check on him, let him know what we found out and ask what he wants to do know. I won’t tell him that Gene wants to meet him and talk, that’s something that I should tell him in person.”

Aaron nodded, “Okay, I’ll go keep an eye on him. Take your time.” Aaron said, kissing her cheek softly before walking out of the room and closing the door behind him to leave her in peace.

 

Zane sunk into the bath, the warm water engulfing everything up to his lips. It was so relaxing, and even helped calm his stomach a little after the night he had. Garroth and Laurence had left for their date, which left him completely alone and unrushed to get through the bath as quickly as possible; he could take his time to really enjoy the warmth of everything and let it wash away all the anxiety that was pushing through his veins whenever he thought about Gene or Zenix.

Before that day Zane had enjoyed spending time alone in his room so that people didn’t annoy him, but after it happened he became afraid of being with anybody. He didn’t enjoy being alone anymore, in fact when he moved away from home and into his own house before befriending Aphmau he stayed locked up in his house in fear of people finding him and hurting him again. If he was always home alone, he was safe and there was less of a chance that somebody would betray his trust and hurt him. Now though, that he not only had friends but had roommates as well he found himself being alone again. He would never admit it to anybody, but he felt safer with his Big Brother around.

Zane held his breath and let him slip completely under the water, letting the water warm him up even more. He had to stop thinking like that. He wasn’t a kid anymore, he could defend himself, and now he had friends who would listen to him and help him go through things. They wouldn’t let Gene or Zenix hurt him again and he wouldn’t let anybody be hurt because of him.

Once Zane’s lungs began begging for air Zane sat up, his hair falling in his face, dripping slightly. He then shook his head, shaking the water off his hair before he curled into a ball, wrapping his arms around his legs in a comforting way. After a moment though he looked at his wrists. Despite what many people thought he had never cut himself… though he had come close more than one, he had never taken the blade to his skin. Even on the worst day of his life he didn’t, he had refused to do hurt himself when he had already been hurt so much.

He did have a scar on his wrist though, the left one had a scar on the wrist bone from that night where the rope had burned him and left a permanent scar. He also had anxiety marks on his forearms from his panic attacks that happened often since then. He would begin scratching his arm until he would accidently draw blood. Many people thought these were made on purpose, but Aphmau knew the truth, and that was enough for him.

Zane was enjoying the silence for a long moment until he squeaked out loudly as his phone buzzed loudly from the toilet next to him. He sunk slightly in the water, glaring at the lit up phone on seat. He had a feeling it was from Aphmau, but still he was really worried that it wasn’t, if it was Gene… what would he do? After a moment he got up the bravery and lifted his arm out of the water, picking up the phone and looking at the text. It was Aphmau, thank Irene.

We talked to Gene, he admitted to everything. I’ll tell you more when I get home. How are you feeling? -Aphmau.

Zane bit his lip before typing; I feel better, still uncomfortable about everything. I’m sorry I dumped all of this on you… I should have just kept my mouth shut…

The reply was almost instant. Zane, stop. You have nothing to be sorry about, okay? I’m sorry that you didn’t feel you could trust me enough to tell me sooner and that I made you spend all this time with Gene… I knew you were uncomfortable but I just thought you were being weird… I’m so sorry… 

Zane could feel tears forming again, No, it’s not your fault.I really did think I was over it. Zane then sighed, putting it on the toilet seat again before letting himself sink into the water. He honestly did think he was over all of this… but now that he knew he wasn’t he found it was becoming harder and harder to push past it as he had once in the past.

 

-11 Years Ago- 

 

“Zane? What are you doing here?”

The voice scared him, but also made him relax as he looked up at Jeffory, who seemed to scan over him carefully. Zane knew he had to look like crap, he could feel the scab forming on his lip, his uniform was wrinkled and covered in dirt, his eyes all red and puffy from crying, and he was shaking.

“Jeffory-.”

“You weren’t vandalizing school property were you?”

“W-w-what? No.”

Jeffory rolled his eyes, “Come on, Zane, why else would you be here if not to prove yourself to the Shadow Knights? They’re pathetic, and I don’t understand why you’re so desperate to join a bunch of losers like them.”

“I-I wasn’t, I promise. G-Gene and Zenix, they attacked me and-.”

“Of course they did. Please, if they really had attacked you I’m sure you’d look worse than that. Knowing you Zane you did all of that to yourself, or you fell down a hill. Just go home.” Jeffory sighed, turning and walking away, leaving the younger blue eyed man shaking violently where he stood.

He didn’t believe me. He wouldn’t listen. He doesn’t care. Nobody will care. I brought this on myself.

Zane gulped slightly, forcing himself to start moving forward, he had to get home. Home was safe, and so long as he was there he wouldn’t be in danger of Gene or Zenix hurting him again. Still though, walking the two miles home in as much pain as he was, was harder than he thought it would be. 

There had been multiple times when his knees would nearly give out under him and he would have to catch him before he hit the ground, because he knew if he did fall to his knees then he wouldn’t be able to get back up. Soon the porch light of his house came into view and walking seemed to become a little easier as he convinced himself to keep pushing forward until he opened the door and walked into the house. He was expecting to be met by a worried Mother and a furious Father with two brothers watching him get in trouble, but instead, he got nothing but silence. A shattering silence.

Tears formed as he forced his voice to come out, “Mom? Dad?” He called, stumbling into the livingroom where he found a note sitting on the table. He picked it up, his hands violently trembling as he picked it up and read it outloud. “Boys, your mother and I had a last minute customer and had to leave. We will not be home until Monday, take kind to each other, there is emergency money on the counter…. Love Dad.” Zane sniffled, curly the note in a ball before throwing it to the floor as he marched up the stairs slowly.

“Zane?” Vylad’s voice shattered the silence as he looked at the top of the stairs, seeing his younger genius brother standing there with a surprised look on his face. “What happened to you?”

“I-.” He wanted to tell the truth, but remembering how Jeffory reacted he quickly shut his mouth. Vylad not knowing hurt a lot less than him not believing. “I tripped down a hill. I’m fine.” Zane said, pushing past Vylad as he walked into the bathroom, and locked the door behind him.

Nobody needed to know what happened that night. Not now. Not ever.


	4. Forget

Zane sat on the couch, watching a Steven Universe marathon in his black sweats and his “She’s My Best Friend” t-shirt, and his typical black mask on. His hair was still slightly damp from his bath, but it was comforting to him in a way. He didn’t mind the cold nearly as much as he did the heat, so having hair hair keeping him cool was nice. Despite the reason he had been given the day off his day had been perfect.

He didn’t feel as sick after his bath, even after he ate a full plate of cupcakes all on his own, he was able to feel safe in his own house while Garroth and Laurence were on a date and out of his hair, and he was watching his second favorite show. He almost thought it couldn’t go wrong until there was a knock at his door.

Zane sighed heavily, turning down the tv as he walked to the front door being instantly met by a set of bright green eyes slightly hidden by snow white hair.

“Travis? What are you doing here?”

“Garroth texted me and told me to come check on you.” Travis said and Zane glared. “You alright?”

“I’m fine.” Zane said, pinching the bridge of his nose. “I just got a stomach ache yesterday. Garroth is just making a big deal out of everything. Now, get lost.” He said, and was about to close the door when Travis spoke up.

“Aphmau told me everything.”

Zane froze, looking at him worriedly as he opened the door slightly. “She did?”

“Nope.” Travis said, shoving the door open and went inside, closing the door behind him so that Travis was trapped with him. “But now I know something is going on. So, what’s going on, Zane?” He said, pulling Zane to the couch and sitting him down.

Zane felt his face warm up. Of course it was a trick, Aphmau was great at keeping secrets and wouldn’t have told anybody what he was going through. Especially not Travis. Zane sighed, leaning back in his seat as he continued watching Steven Universe.

“Nothing is going on.” Zane grumbled, “I just had a stomach ache yesterday, just like I said.”

Travis frowned, “That can’t be all of it, you wouldn’t have looked at me the way you had if a stomach ache was all it was.”

Zane crossed his arms over his chest, his stomach feeling tight again. He never understood why Travis could read him so well. He had only really started getting to know the white haired boy at Love Love Paradise and had actually found that he enjoyed the other man’s company. He didn’t know much about Travis’s past but he knew that he and his Mother were abused by his Father, and that his Mother died during their third year of High School. Travis was stuck living with his Father for years after his Mother’s death, which turned him from the sweet and shy kid he was back then into the pervert that he was now.

Despite the fact that Travis was a pervert who flirted with Zane as much as he did Katelyn… Zane trusted him. Maybe even enough to tell him what he was going through. Zane then shook his head slightly.

“I’m sorry, but um…” Zane sighed, “I can’t tell you, not yet at least.”

Travis nodded in understanding. “Okay.” He said, giving a gentle smile to the black haired boy. “You know what, how’s about you and I make some cookies? I don’t know what’s going on, but I know you could use a distraction.”

Zane blushed slightly at the idea of spending time with Travis alone, but after a moment he gave a nodd. “Y-yeah, u-um, alright.” He said, the two getting to their feet and making their way towards the kitchen.

 

Aphmau yelped in surprise as she bumped into a wall, nearly dropping the tray she was holding, a worried frown on her face. That was the second time she had done that in the past four hours of work and there were still four more to go. The rate she was going though she was going to break everything they owned before the shift was over. She couldn’t help it though, she was just too worried about Zane. He had never messaged her back and when he texted Garroth to see if he was alright he had told her that Zane had stayed home while he and Laurence went into town for a while.

The idea that Zane was home alone while going through all of this made her worried. Zane wasn’t the self-harming or suicidal type despite what their friends thought, but still something as bad as that… it could cause people to do crazy things. Finally though Aphmau had enough, and when she turned around to talk to all the people working around her she saw Aaron right behind her.

“Aphmau.” Aaron said, “You should go check on Zane.” He told her, “Kawaii-Chan and I can take care of everything here.”

Aphmau gave a gentle nod before she jogged into the back room to change back into her normal winter clothes which consisted of black pants, a dark purple sweater, purple snow boots and a black beanie with a purple bow on the side. It would keep her warm enough to walk to their street and check on Zane.

She gave Gene one last look before pushing her hair out of her face, she then looked at Aaron with a forced smile.

“I’ll text you when I found out what’s going on with Zane.” Aphmau said, and Aaron nodded.

“Yeah. Get home safe, Aph.”

“Always.” She said, then walked out of the Cafe without another word.

 

“How did this happen?” Zane said as he looked at Travis and then himself, both of which were completely covered in flower.

“Um, magic?” Travis said with a laugh that made Zane blush slightly and look at him yet again.

“You look like a ghost.” Zane said to the white haired man who seemed to have more spots of flower than he did of clean area’s.

Travis chuckled slightly, “If I’m a ghost then you’re an Emo Snowman.”

This time it was Zane’s turn to let out a snort of a laugh, that soon turned into a full on laugh, which dusted his cheeks with a slight blush on his face. Travis too began to giggle, before he stepped a little closer to Zane.

“You have a cute laugh, Zane.” Travis said and Zane blushed darkly.

“W-what?” He said with a shy cough, “N-no way. I laugh like an idiot.”

“Nah.” Travis shook his head, “Whoever told you that was an idiot.”

Zane looked away shyly, as Travis reached over and touched Zane’s arm making the goth boy jump slightly. He hadn’t expected o be touched, and made him a little nervous under the situation, but the fact that Travis was leaning forward made him tense up and close his eyes tightly. He had been expecting pain, or even a kiss; which just the thought of either made him feel nauseous, but what he got instead was a puff of air blown in his face.

“Hey!” Zane said, rubbing the flower out of his face before he glared at Travis. “W-what was that for?”

Travis smiled slightly, sticking out his tongue at the shorter man. “Because I wanted to see your cute reaction.”

Zane felt his face heat up slightly as he looked away. Zane hated when Travis called him cute or pretended like Travis actually liked him. If Travis meant anything he said then it made him think that Travis really did only like him for his butt. Zane was actually afraid a little at the look Travis got in his eyes.

Travis frowned, “Zane, I know you and I aren't close but, you know I've got your back. Right?”

Zane was startled looking at the man with snow-white hair. Travis had a serious yet tender look in his eyes as he looked at him. “Thank you, Travis.” He said, forcing a smile that was wasted on the fact that his mask was covering most of his face.

“No problem, now, how about I sweep the kitchen and you put the cookies in the oven.” Travis said with a big doofy smile on his face as he went to the stairway closet, where the broom and dustpan were kept.

Twenty minutes later the kitchen was cleaned up, and the smell of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies. Travis and Zane were just about to sit at the table and eat when a knock came to the door before it opened and Aphmau walked in.

“Zane are you-Travis?” She stopped in her tracks, a worried expression melting off her face almost instantly. “What are you doing here?”

“Garroth told me to come over and make sure Zane was okay. Gosh, the way everybody has been acting today you'd think Zane was a Prince.”

Zane felt a blush at the comment but his stomach tightened worriedly.

“Well…” Aphmau looked at Zane who shook his head, letting her know he had told Travis nothing. “Zane doesn't get sick very often.”

Travis seemed hesitant to believe what Aphmau said but nodded slightly in understanding, as though knowing better than to question the situation further. “Okay. Oh, we made cookies, Aph.” Travis said, sliding the plate forward slightly.

“Ohh! Cookies!” She said, sitting at the table and grabbing one and chomping down on it.

“Aph, don't you have work today? What are you doing here?”

“I was worried about you, besides… we need to talk.”

Zane frowned, “Okay? Later though, I'm enjoying not being stressed out for once. Instead.”

Aphmau nodded. “Okay.” She smiled, and Zane could see the worried look on Travis’s face.

“Guys…” Travis said, “What's going on? Whats with the secrets? Are you guys alright?”

Aphmau gave a smile, “Sorry Travis, but-.”

“Aph… I've got this.” Zane smiled, looking at Travis. “I don’t want to get into detail, because I don't want everybody to know but something… happened in High School and its affecting me more and more lately.” 

Travis’s eyes narrowed, “Are you going to be okay?”

“Yeah, I mean… I think. It’ll take a while but I’ll be okay.” Zane said, and felt warmth in his chest. Did Travis actually care about him? Is that what the look was? Concern?

“Good.” Travis smiled, “I don’t know what we’d do without cha’ Zane.” 

“Awww.” Aphmau said, “I ship it.”

This time it was Travis’s turn to blush slightly. “Well I just meant that um, he’s really cook and you guys are really close and-.”

“Aw, admit it Travis, you like Zane.” Aphmau said and after a moment Travis smiled.

“Yeah, I do.” Travis said “It’s a really good friend.”

Zane looked down at his hands with a blush forming under his mask. He was happy Travis cared for him like this, maybe with even more friends he would be able to get over what happened to him back them.

 

-11 Years Ago-

 

Zane turned on the shower and stood under the flow of water which was turned up as hot as he could stand having it. Still though, no matter how hot it was or how much he scrubbed himself with soap he still felt gross. His body shook, his legs felt weak, and his jaw hurt, though not nearly as much as his spine and butt did. He knew Vylad was worried, he was smart and probably wouldn’t fall for the “I fell” story.

Would Vylad tell his parents? Would he tell Garroth? N-no, he couldn’t have everybody knowing. Nobody would believe him, everybody would hate him or blame him for what happened. 

He was a man, he should have been able to defend himself. He should have tried to fight them off… but… he didn’t, he just let them do what they wanted. He got what he deserved. Nothing he did now could change that, it was done. If it did happen again though he would fight. He would fight and scream and bite. He didn’t care if they killed him… it was already hard enough with dealing with the guilt of what happened.

Zane dug his nails into his skin as he scrubbed it, letting the soap bubbles cover his arms and legs, being careful when going over his bruised hips, avoiding his butt for last. He then washed his face and rinsed off leaving his skin with red streaks over it. Then he attended to the part that really needed his attention, his butt, which he suspected would really hurt.

He sucked in a breath, grabbing a washcloth and putting soap on a corner of it. Then, using his right hand he braced himself against the wall and let his left hand run between his legs over the sensitive area, making him whimper in pain. As he thought, Gene had caused some serious damage down there and the soap was getting in the wounds. He shuddered, tears in his eyes as he cleaned himself off, his eyes drifting to the water flowing to the drain.

Zane instantly felt sick as blood and chunky white semen ran down his legs and down the clean drain. He knew what had been done… but until that moment he had been in a state of shock. Seeing all of what was coming off of him though he was snapped to reality. He dropped the rag to the bottom of the shower and bent over, losing whatever was left in his stomach onto the bottom of the shower, his knees shaking as he sobbed slightly.

 

The rest of his shower was in a dazed state, his body shaking and tears dripping down his face while he did his best to ignore the world. He wrapped his black robe around himself before looking at the ruined uniform by the bathroom door. Part of him wanted to ignore it, but if he wanted to keep it a secret he would have to take care of it now. Sucking in a breath he pushed the uniform into a spare garbage bag from under the sink, tying the top of it before carrying it to his room and tossing it under his bed.

Zane walked to his closet, pulling out a clean pair of boxers and the softest pj’s he had, slipping into the boxer and bottoms before undoing the robe and letting it pool on the floor. His hands shook violently as he slid on the top, struggling with the buttons of the top, tears forming and dripping down his face. He was becoming frustrated and wanted nothing more than to ask somebody for help… but the idea of causing anybody to worry about him… no… it wasn’t worth it. He couldn’t have anybody not believe him again. Having one person not believe him hurt… but if his family didn’t believe him… he didn’t know what he would do.

After buttoning the final one he walked to his bed, flopping down on his stomach as he curled into a ball, pulling the blanket over his shoulder slowly. This sucked so bad, all he wanted to do was sleep it off, if he couldn’t forget this… then he wouldn’t be able to go on with his life.

He closed his eyes softly, his breath shuddering.

He just had to forget.

… just forget.


End file.
